Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-07-09

whole project fell through. chiefly on &C., count of the greed Of its promoters. Why last year
 EX-GOVERNOR sPRAGUE, OF RHODE
 ISLAND,
 came here on a secret mission concern ing the same old question. His plan vas to construct a tunnel seven miles long through the mountains surround- in the yslley-a radical way out Ut ine difficulty one would imagine, but rather expensive, After lingering around some months with a deal of mystery but DO apparent result, Gov. Spr1gue returned to the United States. and thus spared us from addIng sno.her to the list or failures.
 In tbe spring of '79 Col. A. R. Owen. of Che ter, Penn bead of the TOPol0- bampo Colony and Credit FOucIer com oapy. went to Mexico to lay before President DieZ plans for a worlds exhi- bition. then being considered m Mexico During this visit President DIaz and Secretary of the Treasury Romero re- ouested Mir. Owen, vbo Is a practical enzlnee-, to prepare plans HDd form coupgny to drain tLe valley. This he did. and also submitted a prOposllic0 10 build q national rEilgay system which was favorably considered. Col Osen accordingly formed a syndicate. aith Gen. Turbel 1t iIs head, ana ID August of 1880 sailed from New York 70 lnaugurate the public works of Mexico. On the 29.h of that month he steamer was wrecked by cyclone, and Genera. Torbet and seyenty-fuur others were drowned, Mr. Oven was cast upon the Florida coast. after being tweBty-lwo heurs in the water. Even this dId not dRmpen his ardor. and be immediately set about organizing another syndicate. But tue enforced delay proved fatal to his hopes; other companies obtained coucsss.ons and introduced into Mexico the United States system of railroads and banking.
 And year by year the drainage of the valley is becoming a more imps rgiivC necessity and the death rate ot tbe city steadily mounts higher in the scale Every now and then the papers take up the cry, or somebody comes along with 8 new scheme, but nothing ever comes Oi it. The Cleveland capitalists will adopt different plan from a1y tried hereto fore, viz: That Of
 TUNSELLISG UNDER THE MOUNTAIN. They propose tO construct a canal clear across the valley, aud their contract is for a portion of Ils excavation. Some idea of the magnitude of the uudertsk- ing may be gained from tue fac. that the valley itself is forty-tye miles lOu z and tbirty-One miles wide. and heaven only knows how long tunnel will De re- | quired to pierce one Of these stupendunus mountains. The contract which these Americans have already obtained IS for portion of the eXcsva- ton and IL IS worth about million dol lars. They hope to get the remainder of the work, hs it IS said inst the Buoy rus company's dTedges 6s pecullnrly adapted 10 It. The whole undertaking IS worth nearly five millions of dollars. IL Eill take several years to complete | IL, native labor being utilized, under the control of American engineers.
 And after all this expense and trOu- | ble, there ls serious danger that the ac- ! complishment of the undertaking will | hasten the extinction Of the city in one | sudden and irremedisbls catastrophe | As long ego as when that eminent au- | ihOrity, Baron Humboldt, studied aud wrote upon tue subject, he declared | that il the water. which really holds tine basin up, wsre drained from beneath 1t, | Ire whole clty would sink into u;;er ruin. This idea that the drawing off Of the superabundaDce of water winch now | largely cOmpCsss the snbsOil Of the val | ley would create a vacuum m tbe earth into which the city would fall, will BOW | be urged more strenuously than ever by | property owners against any proposed system ot drainage. because the recent earthquake SO cracked and damaged msny walls that they will not bear much settling" No. long ago a cOugressiOn- sl committee was appointed to investi- gate snd report upon the subject. give you verbatim an interview with one l of them: You voted against the con cessiln; may ask for what Teason?'
 My principal objection vas that If the wst T is drawn of the city will sink. Water is Ls good sustainer, and will c6rTy as mueh weight, as any solid. so the City Of Mexico, m fact, does ride CD a lake, more or less deep, more or less occupied by rocks. IL is noticeable that earthquakes do liitle damage when they visit this city. because the soil on which 1T Is built IS so spOngy that the city can not oscillate Bs severely a. it would Ii built on solid rock. IL all this water were drawn off b. drainage what would prevent the rIty from settling, or from tumbIing about our ears Tn ruins Imagine the cathedral sinking even one foot, That would bo sufIi ,ient To bring down the old dones and pillars and bury the vOrshipsrs. The north end of the College of Mines has settled now Gs much as it safely can. I could name hund- eds of buildings here that would
 TUMBLE INTO COMPLETE wREcK5 if only two inches of water were drawn of"
 "Would the drainage make the valley too dry?'
 ''5ome think SO. and that We wonld then have no rain at all. Fer my part, 1 believe ifforests were planted in the suburbs. we would not suffer. ] would not. you unders; ;and, advocate the dram age Ot the higher lakes, Tochimilio and ChalcO m any case, for their presence ls necessary for the rsIn,all, for the flush- ing of the sewers and tbe preservation of the pure atmosphere"
 "Whst do you think of ibe old vI- ceroy's plan for removing the Capital 10 the foothills of TaCubayaY
 "Ihat was tine time to have done it; il would be difficult now. If not imp0ssi- ble."
 You believe. do you not, that the continuance Of the city is threatened by TeIoco and the present deadly state of thingsg"
 "Ot course I dO."
 "Well. what other remedy would you suggesty'
 "Quien sabe" (Eho knows replied the congressman in the language of bis lsnd-the usual way of dismissipg an inaccessible conundrum.
 Therefore If any inventive genus from Ono or elsewhere, knows tho se- oret of drsininR this incom0arsble val ley without collapsIng the buildings, be will rescue from a serious pfedlcamant what should become the finest and | hesltbiest city in the world, as well as one Of the ID st beautiful. and win the eternal gratitude of its inhabitants. FASSIE E. WARD.
 Is it Really Consumption?
 Many q case supposed to be radical n